GRIFFITH-born Ranga Ediriwickrama is making waves in the unlikley field of Australian football, with the Sri Lankan excelling in his chosen sport, fanning talks of him being injected into the next AFL draft.
Since taking up the sport, Ediriwickrama has caused a surge of interest on the national scene, after the dynamic-onballer shone in his performances and captaincy of the NSW-ACT Rams at the national titles.
Aside from being a star for the Rams, the player – with the nearly impossibly surname to pronounce – is also under scholarship with the Geelong Cats, which means they will be able to priority list Ediriwickrama onto either their senior or rookie list when he is nominated for the draft.
However, the mature 17-year-old isn’t thinking that far ahead just yet, saying he still has to keep working on his game if he wants to make his AFL dream come true.
“Everything is going well at the moment, I am pretty happy with how my game is going, but also nervous at the same time,” Ediriwickrama said.
“Nervous about what the future holds and not trying to put too many expectations on myself, but I would like to play full-time, but at the moment I am not trying to think about it to much.
“The Cats have been really good – they are in contact with me at least once a month to see how my game is going, but also how things are going off he field as well, like my family, my relatioships.”
Ediriwickrama, who has the ability to rotate as a small forward, an onballer or on the wing, took up the sport at the insistance of friends, but said his mother needed some convincing about his new choice.“They (my parents) have been really supportive, dad was from the start, but I got hurt a couple of times in my first season and mum was afraid I would get hurt more often,” he said.
“But now she’s great, and she is really getting into watching me play, and coming to my games and trying to help me improve.”
Ediriwickrama, who moved from the area as a youngster and now plays for Pennant Hills in Sydney, said the chance to play for and captain the NSW-ACT Rams side was also another significant boost for his playing career.
“The Rams (coaches) have been really helpful with my development, and getting the chance to play against the best in the country, it was a great learning curve,” he said.
“To see how other players train and play – and also to be captain – that has been a good experience as well.”
After admitting he played “cricket nearly every day” while living in Griffith, Ediriwi-ckrama said he has fond memories of his birthplace.
“I really loved Griffith, I remember the massive backyard that we had and playing cricket with my (older) brother in the backyard,” he said.
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